The people and the culture of the firm were a significant factor. Haines Watts is a national firm, so it has the resources to service clients in various different sectors, offering pretty much everything that the Big Four have. The big difference was that it is very much run like a small business, so there’s more of a family feeling in the office. The people and the progression route attracted me too because it was clear that, for the right people, the firm will create roles to suit their skills and help people progress to where they want to be. Basically, if you show them you can do the job, the team here will collaborate with you to create the best role possible.
Absolutely, you can't beat learning on the job, to be honest. The experience I’ve gained by going straight into real working has been fantastic. I learned independence by being sent out to meet with clients from age 18 and although you might make a few mistakes, you also learn to correct them, so you are better prepared for next time. Being able to talk to clients, build rapport and nurture professional relationships is also important and something I learned early thanks to the apprenticeship. Although many people still take the university route to accountancy, I don’t think it’s fully necessary, since the skills and knowledge you need can be learnt in the workplace, while also gaining trust and building client relations at the same time. Looking back, I was sent out to see clients to do simple tasks like ticking invoices and walkthroughs, and I now manage those accounts. I’ve stayed connected with certain clients because I've built a good relationship with them and for so long too, so both they and I are keen for me to stay involved. I do remember one client, which I visited as a junior during my first year of training. I was going to meet them but was running late because my brother had taken my car keys to work with him, I had to go and collect them from him before I could drive to the client. I will never forget when I arrived late and had to explain the whole situation – he jokingly made a comment saying, “oh, you're late” and even to this day, when I go back we have a running joke. It’s great to have that long-standing relationship with clients.
It was very nerve racking, and I still get nervous, even now if I’ve got a big meeting with a client or a board of directors. But because of the skills I’ve built up over the years, I know how to manage different clients’ expectations which makes it all feel easier. I built a lot of confidence by having hands-on experience and that’s why I like to get apprentices in my team. I am always a supporter of having apprentices and newer members of staff pushed out and allow them to speak directly to clients. We give them adequate training before heading out, but what they can learn from reading books can only take them part of the way. At the end of the day, you can always research to find the answer to a technical question, but you can't teach someone to interact with people – you’ve either got it or you haven’t.
Communication skills were something I had to build quickly. It's a key skill because apprentices are out talking to a range of clients, and they need to be able to adapt their approach depending on the individual. Haines Watts have such a great variety of clients across different industries, so it’s important for them to understand early how to adapt to each of their different needs.
We work on billable time so organisational skills and time management are key. It's important that things like timesheets are kept up to date because we're so busy and managers need to know what everyone is working on and what time they've got available. For apprentices, this is learning how to communicate with their team so they can help either offer support or we can give them more work.
Go to a few interviews - it’s important to be able to compare things. You need to understand what you like and what you don’t about different companies, particularly if you’re fresh out of university or school. Firms are very individual, and you need to find one with a culture that fits you. For example, Haines Watts is very different to the Big Four and the experience you get as an apprentice will be unique at each one.
I'd also suggest talking to others that have been down your career route too. LinkedIn is great for finding people in a professional sense like myself for example. In the past I’ve known candidates to have contacted other members of the team to ask a little bit about the firm and what they enjoy about it, which impressed me and actually contributed to me offering them the job because I thought that showed they were being proactive and would fit with the company well.
I didn’t anticipate being so involved in the HR side, but I quickly realised that my strengths are people-based – I'm very much a people person. I like to make sure everyone is doing well in the team, so I naturally fell into the role when they needed someone to help with the recruitment. I'm now running the team, which means doing regular catchups with everybody and running all their studies, as well as planning out their own personal developments but it is something that I enjoy doing. Although I don’t want to be in a dedicated HR role, I do love the people side of my job - it’s great seeing trainees learn and helping them get further in their careers.
I have a professional development plan, and I think the next steps for me are likely to be completing the Leadership Development Trust programme, it generally comes after the Manager Skills Programme which I’ve completed. It's not been set up yet, but at some point in the future, I’ll do that in order to move towards Partner level. I have started to take on a few clients myself already, which is excellent practice and I look forward to growing those accounts and building long-term relationships.
"I'd also suggest talking to others that have been down your career route too. LinkedIn is great for finding people in a professional sense like myself for example."
